He grew up on the historic whisky island of Islay and his "whole family are involved in the whisky industry", so has the background.

Now Graham Omand is making his own malt whisky history by helping with the creation of a new distillery on a different island, some would say of no less standing.

One of his aims is "to show that there is much more to peated whisky than the standard profile that everyone knows already".

He told The Herald: "It’s every stillman’s dream to be given an opportunity to manage a beautiful site like Lagg, I’m going to make sure it’s a legacy I’ll be proud to say I helped build."

Read more here in our Q&A:  

Name: Graham Omand, Lagg Distillery Manager.

Business name: Lagg Distillery, Isle of Arran Distillers

Location: Isle of Arran, Scotland

Business Description:

Lagg Distillery is a new whisky distillery, which opened in 2019. Located in the South of The Isle of Arran, producing heavily peated malt with a rich smoky flavour yet a freshness and elegance that won’t fail to surprise. Sister to Lochranza Distillery on the north of the island which produces Arran Single Malt. Encouraging people to join us on our new whisky journey and look at whisky in a different way – peated whisky doesn’t have to be unapproachable to someone starting out on their whisky journey.

To whom do you sell?

Lagg will appeal to whisky fans who enjoy a heavily peated dram, but it’s also a modern malt where people can join in the story from the beginning.  Although our malt is heavily peated, it has a fresh and approachable style that welcomes people in, whether they know a little or a lot about Single Malt. Our whisky can be found worldwide. All of our core ranges are available in specialist whisky shops throughout the world and also in smaller wine and spirit retailers.

How many employees?

In production there are eight people who work at Lagg, and together we focus on the production of the whisky.  Between production and the Visitor Experience, Lagg Distillery in total has 30 employees on the island who handle all production and visitors to the island.  We also have a team based in Stirling who manage our global distribution network and operations.

What is the turnover? 

Turnover for our Company Isle of Arran Distillers as a whole, incorporating our Arran Single Malt and Lagg Single Malt is around £17 million.

Why did you take the plunge?

I grew up on the island of Islay, renowned for its peated whisky production. My whole family are involved in the whisky industry, and I grew up around whisky and distilleries. When I was 22, I got the opportunity to learn my craft at our Lochranza Distillery alongside my Uncle James MacTaggart, a veteran of the industry.

Graham Omand aims to build a whisky legacyGraham Omand aims to build a whisky legacy (Image: Lagg Distillery) I then went on to work as a stillsman for over eight years, a position which allowed me to grow and refine my skill set. 14 years later I am still here in Arran. In 2019 I took the plunge into the Manager role at Lagg which was the very first manager the company had. They had a lot of faith in me at the time and I took my knowledge to Lagg and built the whisky profile from there.

What were you doing before?

I worked at The Co-op until I was 18 and then went on to study Biotechnology and Food Science at college.

What do you least enjoy?

Sometimes I miss the fact that my role encompasses a lot of responsibilities other than simply making the whisky on a day-to-day basis. There is a lot involved in making sure that everything runs smoothly and our stillhouse and warehouse team have the best conditions to focus on producing our spirit day to day. I do really enjoy my new role, but I do miss making the whisky every day too.

What are your ambitions for the firm?

For Lagg to be recognised as a key, respected producer of heavily peated malt from the Isle of Arran – to show that there is much more to peated whisky than the standard profile that everyone knows already.

READ MORE: 

It would be my dream to showcase the south end of the Isle of Arran for its whisky, just as Lochranza has done for the north end of the island.  To uphold the dreams for whisky production on the Isle of Arran, that it will be known as a whisky island. I know that this will take time, but I also know that we will get there.

What single thing would most help?

Time. Lagg is still young. The quality is there we just need the time and patience but thankfully we have that in abundance!

What is the most valuable lesson you have learned?

To trust your employees. Give them the opportunity to problem solve, trust in them and be available for a helping hand or words of wisdom or encouragement when required.

What was your best moment?

It would have to be when our very first whisky came back in bottles and cases, that was by far the best moment so far for me and the team. I gave one each to the team to taste and enjoy together. As a team, this is what we had been making for the past three and a half years and working so hard on. We had a late opening at the distillery and the shop for locals to come and get their very first whisky. It really was a memorable moment.

What was your worst moment?

At the start of the pandemic, we had not been operating for very long and with the ferries involved which we relied on for importing goods, production was hugely disrupted. There was then the decision made that we had to shut down, only after a year of being open. Following that, we were then able to open but we had a very limited production at first before we properly got back up and running after the first year. It was challenging but we made our way through it!

How do you relax?

I always relax after the kids have gone to bed, maybe watch something. My favourite thing to do with my fiancée Holly is to have a lovely fire in the garden outside on a summer's night together.